Immunogenic composition and uses thereof

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides an immunogenic composition comprising an antigen and a dendritic cell targeting component. A charged group is covalently attached to a dendritic cell ligand and is electrostatically associated with the dendritic cell targeting component.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation-in-part of International Patent Application No. PCT/AU2009/000446, filed Apr. 9, 2009, and is a continuation of International Patent Application No, PCT/AU2009/000469, filed Apr. 16, 2009, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety, including any figures, tables, or drawings.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

There is an ever increasing interest in the development of compositions which can be used to raise an immune response in humans and other animals in particular to protect against disease. In generating an immune response it is necessary for the antigen to encounter dendritic cells. Dendritic cells are immune cells and form part of the mammalian immune system. Their main function is to process antigen material and present it on the surface to other cells of the immune system, thus functioning as antigen-presenting cells.

The targeting of antigens to dendritic cells has been contemplated previously and lipopeptides which include lipids which Toll-like receptors on dendritic cells have been shown to elicit strong immune response (WO 2004/014956 & WO 2004/014957, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein be reference)

For any peptide to be able to induce an effective antibody response it must contain particular sequences of amino acids known as epitopes that are recognised by the immune system. In particular, for antibody responses, epitopes need to be recognised by specific immunoglobulin (Ig) receptors present on the surface of B lymphocytes. It is these cells which ultimately differentiate into plasma cells capable of producing antibody specific for that epitope. In addition to these B cell epitopes, the immunogen must also contain epitopes that are presented by antigen presenting cells (APC) to specific receptors present on helper lymphocytes, the cells which are necessary to provide the signals required for the B cells to differentiate into antibody producing cells.

In the case of viral infections and in many cases of cancer, antibody is of limited benefit in recovery and the immune system responds with cytotoxic T cells (CTL) which are able to kill the virus-infected or cancer cell. Like helper T cells, CTL are first activated by interaction with APC bearing their specific peptide epitope presented on the surface, this time in association with MHC class I rather than class II molecules. Once activated the CTL can engage a target cell bearing the same peptide/class I complex and cause its lysis. It is also becoming apparent that helper T cells play a role in this process; before the APC is capable of activating the CTL it must first receive signals from the helper T cell to upregulate the expression of the necessary costimulatory molecules.

Helper T cell epitopes are bound by molecules present on the surface of APCs that are coded by class II genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). The complex of the class II molecule and peptide epitope is then recognised by specific T-cell receptors (TCR) on the surface of T helper lymphocytes. In this way the T cell, presented with an antigenic epitope in the context of an MHC molecule, can be activated and provide the necessary signals for the B lymphocyte to differentiate.

In general then, an immunogen must contain epitopes capable of being recognised by helper T cells in addition to the epitopes that will be recognised by B cells or by cytotoxic T cells. It should be realised that these types of epitopes may be very different. For B cell epitopes, conformation is important as the B cell receptor binds directly to the native immunogen. In contrast, epitopes recognised by T cells are not dependent on conformational integrity of the epitope and consist of short sequences of approximately nine amino acids for CTL and slightly longer sequences, with less restriction on length, for helper T cells. The only requirements for these epitopes are that they can be accommodated in the binding cleft of the class I or class II molecule respectively and that the complex is then able to engage the T-cell receptor. The class II molecule's binding site is open at both ends allowing a much greater variation in the length of the peptides bound (Brown, J. H., T. S. Jardetzky, J. C. Gorga, L. J. Stern, R. G. Urban, J. L. Strominger and D. C. Wiley. 1993. Three-dimensional structure of the human class II histocompatibility antigen HLA-DR1. Nature 364: 33) although epitopes as short as 8 amino acid residues have been reported (Fahrer, A. M., Geysen, H. M., White, D. O., Jackson, D. C. and Brown, L. E. Analysis of the requirements for class II-restricted T-cell recognition of a single determinant reveals considerable diversity in the T-cell response and degeneracy of peptide binding to I-ED J. Immunol. 1995.155: 2849-2857).

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present inventors have developed immunogenic compositions comprising an antigen and a dendritic cell targeting component in which the antigen is electrostatically associated with the dendritic cell targeting component.

In a first aspect the present invention provides an immunogenic composition comprising an antigen and a dendritic cell targeting component, wherein the antigen comprises a negatively charged region and wherein the dendritic cell targeting component comprises a positively charged group covalently attached to a dendritic cell ligand and wherein the negatively charged region of antigen is electrostatically associated with the dendritic cell targeting component.

In a second aspect the present invention provides an immunogenic composition comprising an antigen and a dendritic cell targeting component, wherein the antigen comprises a positively charged region and wherein the dendritic cell targeting component comprises a negatively charged group covalently attached to a dendritic cell ligand and wherein the positively charged region of antigen is electrostatically associated with the dendritic cell targeting component.

In a third aspect the present invention provides a method of raising an immune response in a subject, the method comprising administering to a subject an immunogenic composition of the first or second aspect of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In the following, OVA=ovalbumin; HEL=hen egg white lysozyme; R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys)=construct shown at 1 in FIG. 5; E₄(S₂Pam₂Cys)=construct shown at 2 in FIG. 5; CFA=complete Freund's adjuvant.

FIG. 1. Antibody and cell-mediated responses elicited by vaccination with R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys-OVA) complexes. (A) Groups of BALB/c mice were inoculated sub-cutaneously with 25 μg of OVA alone, OVA emulsified in CFA or OVA that had been mixed with an equimolar or a 5-fold molar excess of R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys). Animals received a second and similar dose of antigen 26 days later. Sera were obtained from blood taken 27 days after the primary (◯) and 13 days following the secondary () inoculation of antigen. Antibody levels were determined by ELISA and individual antibody titres presented with the mean value represented by the horizontal bar. (B) Mice were inoculated a third time on day 50 and spleens obtained 7 days later. Intracellular cytokine staining was performing on splenocytes to detect the presence of SIINFEKL-specific IFN-γ producing CD8⁺ T cells. Data are presented as the mean and standard deviation of triplicate samples.

FIG. 2. OVA and HEL-specific antibody responses elicited by vaccination with cationic and anion lipopeptide-protein complexes. BALB/c mice were inoculated sub-cutaneously with 25 μg of HEL (A) or OVA (B) alone, emulsified in CFA or with an equal amount of R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) or E₄(S₂Pam₂Cys that had been mixed with the antigen. Mice were bled 28 days after the primary (◯) inoculation, boosted on day 32 and bled again on day 46 (). Antibody levels were then determined by ELISA. Individual animal titres are presented with the mean value represented by the horizontal bar.

FIG. 3. Sedimentation of ovalbumin-lipopeptide complexes. Increasing amounts of the branched R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) or linear Pam₂Cys-SK₄ lipopeptide were mixed with 1 nmole of ovalbumin (OVA) in a total volume of 100 μl PBS in a flat flat-bottom 96-well plate. The turbidity of the solution was then measured by determining the optical density of the solution at 450 nm.

FIG. 4. HPLC analysis of ovalbumin-R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) lipopeptide solution. HPLC analysis was performed on supernatants of solutions containing either (A) 100 nmoles of branched R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) lipopeptide, (B) 1 nmole of ovalbumin (OVA) or (C) a mixture of R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) lipopeptide and ovalbumin in a total volume of 100 μl PBS following centrifugation (1.2×10⁵ G). (D) Sedimented material from the mixture containing both the lipopeptide and OVA was dissolved in a solution of 50% acetonitrile in water and then analysed by HPLC. In all samples containing R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys), the identity of the peak corresponding to the lipopeptide was verified by mass spectrometry.

FIG. 5 Schematic representations of some examples of branched (structures 1-5) and linear (structures 6-8) immunogenic compositions comprising of positively charged (Arginine, R; Lysine, K) or negatively charged (Aspartic acid, D; Glutamic acid, E) amino acids in terminal positions such that their respective electrostatic charges are displayed to the environment. Each immunogenic composition also contains dipalmitoyl-S-glyceryl cysteine (Pam2Cys) which is a ligand for Toll-Like Receptor 2. Two serine residues (Ser) are also incorporated. In the case of construct 2 the peptide structure was assembled in the direction N→C, all other structures shown in the figure were assembled C→N. Positive and negative electrostatic charges are shown as 2−, 2+, 1−, 1+ etc. depending on the size of charge. Ac=acetyl group used to suppress the positive charge of alpha amino groups in the case of N-terminally situated Glutamic acid.

DETAILED DISCLOSURE

The present inventors have found that a charged moiety covalently attached to a dendritic cell targeting group associate with an antigen electrostatically to form an immunogenic complex which can be used to raise an immune response.

Accordingly the present invention provides an immunogenic composition comprising an antigen and a dendritic cell targeting component, wherein the antigen comprises a negatively charged region and wherein the dendritic cell targeting component comprises a positively charged group covalently attached to a dendritic cell ligand and wherein the negatively charged region of antigen is electrostatically associated with the dendritic cell targeting component.

In this aspect of the invention it is important that the antigen includes a negatively charged region or domain which can electrostatically interact with the charged targeting component. It is however not essential that the antigen has an overall negative charge, although this is preferred. It is also possible to increase the negative charge of the antigen by adding negatively charged groups. For example with a polypeptide antigen a chain of aspartic acid or glutamic acid residues could be added to the polypeptide.

It is preferred that the positively charged group comprises at least one positively charged amino acid. It is also preferred that the positively charged group is a branched or linear peptide, preferably branched. In various embodiments the peptide will include at least one arginine, histidine, ornithine or lysine residue or combinations thereof. It is preferred that the peptide comprises at least four arginine residues and/or at least four lysine residues. It is particularly preferred that the positively charged group comprises a branched peptide comprising at least 4 arginine residues.

In a second aspect the present invention provides an immunogenic composition comprising an antigen and a dendritic cell targeting component, wherein the antigen comprises a positively charged region and wherein the dendritic cell targeting component comprises a negatively charged group covalently attached to a dendritic cell ligand and wherein the positively charged region of antigen is electrostatically associated with the dendritic cell targeting component.

In this aspect of the invention it is important that the antigen includes a positively charged region or domain which can electrostatically interact with the charged targeting component. It is however not essential that the antigen has an overall positive charge, although this is preferred. It is also possible to increase the positive charge of the antigen by adding positively charged groups. For example with a polypeptide antigen a chain of lysine, arginine or histidine residues could be added to the polypeptide.

It is preferred that the negatively charged group comprises at least one negatively charged amino acids. It is also preferred that the negatively charged group is a branched or linear peptide, preferably branched. In various embodiments the peptide will include at least one aspartic acid or glutamic acid residue or combinations thereof. It is preferred that the peptide comprises at least four aspartic acid residues and/or at least four glutamic acid residues. It is particularly preferred that the positively charged group comprises a branched peptide comprising at least 4 glutamic acid residues.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention the antigen is not a nucleic acid. It is also preferred that the antigen is associated with the dendritic cell targeting component by electrostatic interaction only.

A range of dendritic cell ligands which may be used in the present invention are set out in Table 1. It is preferred however that the dendritic cell ligand is a TLR ligand. The TLR ligand may comprise a lipid or a peptidoglycan or a lipoprotein or a lipopolysaccharide. In particular, the TLR ligand may comprise palmitoyl, myristoyl, stearoyl, lauroyl, octanoyl, or decanoyl. Preferably the TLR ligand is selected from the group consisting of: Pam2Cys, Pam3Cys, Step 2Cys, Lau2Cys, and Oct2Cys.

In certain embodiments the TLR ligand binds TLR-2, which may be associated TLR-1, or TLR-6.

In a third aspect the present invention provides a method of raising an immune response in a subject, the method comprising administering to a subject an immunogenic composition according to the first or second aspects of the present invention.

TABLE 1 Pathogen Associated Molecular Pattern (PAMP) receptors expressed by DCs Family Receptor Ligand References Toll-like TLR-1 triacylated bacterial lipids (Takeuchi 2002) receptors (TLR-1 & 2) TLR-2 peptidoflycan, yeast (Schwandner zymosan, bacterial 1999, Ozinsky lipoproteins 2000, Takeuchi 2000) TLR-3 double stranded RNA (Alexopoulou 2001) TLR-4 LPS, hsp60 & hsp70 (Poltorak 1998, Chow 1999, Asea 2002, Bulut 2002) TLR-5 flagellin (Hayashi 2001) TLR-6 diacylated bacterial lipids (Morr 2002, (TLR-2 & 6) Okusawa 2004) TLR-7 imidazoquinoline (Hemmi 2002) compounds TLR-8 single stranded RNA (Heil 2004) TLR-9 CpG DNA (Hemmi 2000) TLR-10 yet to be discovered C-type Mannose Mannose-, fucose-, (Kery 1992, lectins Receptor glucose-, GlcNAc- Engering 1997) containing carbohydrates Langerin, Mannose-, fucose- (Feinberg 2001, DC-SIGN containing carbohydrates Frison 2003, Stambach 2003) Dectin-1 β-glucans (Brown 2001) DEC-205 yet to be discovered Abbreviations: CpG, cytosine phosphate guanine; Fc, fragment crystallisable; GlcNAc, N-acetyl glucosamine; hsp, heat shock protein; LPS, lipopolysaccharide; RNA, ribonucleic acid

An exemplary dendritic cell targeting compound of the present invention is the lipopeptide “Pam₂Cys”. One of skill in the art would understand that the term “lipopeptide” means any composition of matter comprising one or more lipid moieties and one or more amino acid sequences that are conjugated. “Pam₂Cys” (also known as dipalmitoyl-S-glyceryl-cysteine or S-[2, 3 bis(palmitoyloxy)propyl] cysteine has been synthesised (Metzger, J. W. et al. 1995. J Pept Sci 1: 184) and corresponds to the lipid moiety of MALP-2, a macrophage-activating lipopeptide isolated from Mycoplasma fermentans (Sacht, G. et al. 1998. Eur J Immunol 28: 4207; Muhiradt, P. F. et al. 1998. Infect Immun 66: 4804; Muhiradt, P. F. et al. 1997. J Exp Med 185: 1951). Pam₂Cys is known to be a ligand of TER-2. Pam₂Cys has the structure of Formula (I):

Other lipid moieties which may be used to target cell surface TLRs include palmitoyl, myristoyl, stearoyl, lauroyl, octanoyl, or decanoyl. Preferred groups include Pam₂Cys, Pam₃Cys, Ste₂Cys, Lau₂Cys, and Oct₂Cys.

Reference to “immune response” as used herein means a reference to the concerted action of lymphocytes, antigen presenting cells, phagocytic cells, granulocytes, and soluble macromolecules produced by the above cells or the liver (including antibodies, cytokines, and complement) that results in selective damage to, destruction of, or elimination from the human body of invading pathogens, cells or tissues infected with pathogens, cancerous cells, or, in cases of autoimmunity or pathological inflammation, normal human cells or tissues.

Throughout this specification the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated step or element or integer or group of steps or elements or integers but not the exclusion of any other step or element or integer or group of elements or integers.

All the references cited in this application are specifically incorporated by reference herein.

Reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that this prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in Australia.

It would be appreciated that the person of skill in the art may introduce any combination of positively charged group and TLR ligand as befits the desired application.

The present invention will now be described further with reference to the following non-limiting examples:

Methods and Materials Synthesis of Lipopeptides

The synthesis of branched and linear lipopeptides was carried out on PEG-S RAM resin (Rapp Polymere, Tübingen, Germany; substitution factor 0.27 mmol/g). For the synthesis of the branched lipopeptides R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys)(construct 1) and E₄(S₂Pam₂Cys)(construct 2; see schematic representations), Fmoc-lysine(Mtt)-OH (Novabiochem, Läufelfingen, Switzerland) was first coupled to the resin at a 4-fold excess with equimolar amounts of O-benzotriazole-N,N,N,N′,N′-tetamethyl-uronium-hexafluorophosphate (HBTU; Novabiochem, Darmstadt, Germany), 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HOBt) and a 1.5-fold molar excess of diisopropylethylamine (DIPEA; Sigma, Castle Hill, Australia). Acylation was carried out for 40 minutes. The Fmoc protective group on the □-amino was then removed and Fmoc-lysine(Fmoc)-OH was coupled such that following removal of these Fmoc groups, two primary amino groups were exposed to act as branching points. Subsequent coupling of another round of Fmoc-lysine(Fmoc)-OH at an 8-fold excess yielded four branch points to which four arginine (R) or glutamic acid (E) residues were coupled at a 16-fold excess.

For the lipidation of branched constructs, the amino groups of the N-terminal arginine acid residues were protected using a 10-fold molar excess of di-tert-butyl dicarbonate (Fluka Chemika, Switzerland) in the presence of DIPEA. The Boc protective groups were removed upon successful lipidation and cleavage. The glutamic acid residues are acetylated with acetic anhydride to block the a-amino groups and also suppress the positive charges of the a-amino groups of the final product. The Mtt protective group present on the ε-amino group of the C-terminal lysine was then removed and two serines were coupled. The Pam₂Cys lipid moiety was then coupled according to Zeng et al (Zeng 2003) to generate branched R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) or branched E₄(S₂Pam₂Cys).

In the case of the linear lipopeptide Pam₂Cys-SK₄, Fmoc-lysine(Boc)-OH and Fmoc-Serine(tBu)-OH were used to synthesise the linear peptide followed by coupling of the Pam₂Cys lipid moiety.

Following assembly, lipopeptides were cleaved from the solid phase support with 88% TFA, 5% phenol, 2% TIPS, 5% water for 3 hours at room temperature and were analysed by reversed phase high-pressure liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) using a Vydac C4 column (4.6×300 mm) installed in a Waters HPLC system. The chromatogram was developed at a flow rate of 1 ml/min using 0.1% TFA in H₂O and 0.1% TFA in acetonitrile as the limit solvent. Products were purified if necessary and presented as a single major peak on analytical RP-HPLC and had the expected mass when analysed using an Agilent series 1100 ion trap mass spectrometer.

Immunization Protocols

Groups of five female, 8-12 week old BALB/c mice were inoculated sub-cutaneously in the base of the tail on day 0 and again on day 28 unless otherwise stated with either 25 μg of ovalbumin (OVA; Sigma Aldrich, USA) or hen egg lysozyme (HEL; Sigma Aldrich, USA) in saline or emulsified in CFA, or mixed with different amounts of R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) or E₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) in saline. Sera were prepared from blood taken at approximately 4 weeks following the primary inoculation and 2 weeks following the secondary inoculation unless otherwise stated.

Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)

Flat bottom well polyvinyl plates (Thermo, USA) were coated with either OVA or HEL (5 μl g/ml) in PBS containing w/v 0.1% sodium azide (Chem Supply, Australia) for 18-20 hours at room temperature in a humidified atmosphere. The antigen was removed and PBS containing 10 mg/ml bovine serum albumin (BSA₁₀PBS) was added for 1 hour before washing with PBS containing v/v 0.05% Tween-20 (Sigma Aldrich, Milwaukee, USA)(PBST). Serial dilutions of sera obtained from immunised mice were added to wells and incubated overnight at room temperature. After washing with PBST, bound antibody was detected using horseradish peroxidase-conjugated rabbit anti-mouse IgG antibodies (Dako, Glostrup, Denmark) in conjunction with enzyme substrate (0.2 mM 2,2′-azino-bis 3-ethylbenzthiazoline-sulfonic acid [Sigma Aldrich, Milwaukee, USA] in 50 mM citric acid [M&B, England] containing 0.004% hydrogen peroxide [Ajax Chemicals, Australia]). Colour development induced by the enzyme-substrate reaction was allowed to proceed for 15 minutes and was stopped by the addition of 50 mM sodium fluoride (BDH Chemicals, Australia). A Labsystems Multiscan Multisoft microplate reader (Pathtech Diagnostics, Australia) was used to determine the absorbance readings at 405 nm (with wavelength correction at 450 nm). The titers of antibody are expressed as the reciprocal of the highest dilution of serum required to achieve an optical density of 0.2.

Detection of IFN-γ Production by Intracellular Cytokine Staining

For the detection of specific CD8⁺ T cell-mediated cytokine production, mice were administered with a third dose of OVA (25 μg) in saline or emulsified in CFA, or mixed with different amounts of R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys). Seven days later spleens were obtained from inoculated mice and pressed through a metal sieve to obtain single cell suspensions. Splenocytes (1×10⁶) were then cultured with syngeneic irradiated (2200 rad, ⁶⁰Co source) naïve splenocytes (5×10⁵) with or without the OVA₂₅₈₋₂₆₅ peptide SIINFEKL (2 μg/ml) in the presence of recombinant IL-2 (10 U/ml; Roche, Mannheim, Germany). Brefeldin A (1 μg/ml) in the form of BD GolgiPlug from the Cytofix/Cytoperm Plus Kit (Becton Dickinson, USA) was also included in this culture. After 6 hours, lymphocytes were washed with FACs wash and stained with a PerCP-conjugated rat anti-mouse CD8 antibody (Clone 53-6.7; Becton Dickinson, USA) for 30 minutes at 4° C. Fixation and permeabilization was then performed for 20 minutes at 4° C. using Cytofix/Cytoperm solution (Cytofix/Cytoperm Plus Kit, Becton Dickinson, USA) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Cells were washed once with the kit-supplied Perm/Wash solution and stained with a FITC-conjugated rat anti-mouse IFN-γ antibody (Clone XMG1.2; Becton Dickinson, USA) for 30 minutes at 4° C. before analysis by flow cytometry. Data analysis was performed using FlowJo software (Treestar Inc, USA). Live viable cells were gated based on their forward and side scattering properties and a total of 1×10⁵ CD8+ cells counted.

Sedimentation of OVA-Lipopeptide Complexes

OVA (1 nmole) was mixed with increasing amounts of the branched R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) or linear Pam₂Cys-SK₄ lipopeptide in a total volume of 100 μl PBS in a flat-bottom 96-well plate. The turbidity of solution in each well was then determined by measuring its optical density at 450 nm on a Labsystems Multiscan Multisoft microplate reader.

Solutions containing either 100 nmoles of R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys), 1 nmole of OVA or a mixture of R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) and OVA were also centrifuged (1.2×10⁵G) and HPLC analysis performed on supernatants. Sedimented material from the mixture containing both the lipopeptide and OVA was also dissolved in a solution of 50% acetonitrile in water and then analysed by HPLC. In all samples, the identity of the peak corresponding to the lipopeptide was verified by mass spectrometry and that of OVA based on its retention time in the solution containing OVA alone.

All patents, patent applications, provisional applications, and publications referred to or cited herein, supra or infra, are incorporated by reference in their entirety, including all figures and tables, to the extent they are not inconsistent with the explicit teachings of this specification.

Following are examples which illustrate procedures for practicing the invention. These examples should not be construed as limiting. All percentages are by weight and all solvent mixture proportions are by volume unless otherwise noted.

Example 1 Introduction

Protein antigens, particularly recombinant proteins, are often not immunogenic and formulation with adjuvant is necessary to enhance their immunogenicity although concerns about adjuvant toxicity and their mechanism of action need to be resolved before they can be licensed for use in humans. Therefore the development of novel systems that can facilitate the delivery of protein antigens by directly targeting and concurrently activating antigen-presenting cells, such as the dendritic cell, could prove to be advantageous.

In this example, we describe the use of a charged and branched lipopeptide structure that can electrostatically bind protein antigens and deliver them to dendritic cells. The charge of the lipopeptide is mediated by the presence of four N-terminal arginine (R₄) or glutamic acid residues (E₄) imparting either an overall positive or negatively charge respectively to the delivery module. Hence R₄ can be used to bind negatively charged proteins and E₄ used for those that are positively charged. The incorporation of the TLR-2 targeting lipid moiety, Pam₂Cys, to the cationic (R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys)) or anionic version (E₄(S₂Pam²Cys)) of the branched lipopeptide ensures targeted delivery of bound protein to dendritic cells.

Results

The lipopeptide R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) has an overall charge of +8 due to the presence of four N-terminal arginine residues (each arginine having a +2 charge). To determine whether R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) can enhance protein immunogenicity through electrostatic interaction, ovalbumin (OVA), which has an overall negative charge of 11, was used as a model protein antigen.

Vaccination with OVA pre-incubated with an equimolar or a 5-fold molar excess of R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) elicited significantly higher titres of anti-OVA antibodies in the primary and secondary response than did vaccination with OVA alone (FIG. 1A) indicating that association of the cationic lipopeptide with the protein can enhance its immunogenicity. The level of antibody elicited appears to be proportional to the amount of R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) used because a 5-fold excess of R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) resulted in higher antibody levels compared to those achieved when an equal amount R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) was used. Although the antibody levels in the primary response of mice in these groups were less than those obtained when mice were inoculated with OVA emulsified in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA), the antibody levels obtained following a second dose of antigen in R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) were almost as high as those induced by FCA.

Cell-mediated responses were also analysed following vaccination with R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys)+OVA. The secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokine, interferon-γ (IFN-γ) by CD8⁺ T cells was measured as an indication of T cell activation. Vaccination with R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys)+OVA induced significantly more specific IFN-γ producing CD8⁺ T cells in the spleen of inoculated mice than did inoculation with OVA alone and similar levels of IFN-γ producing CD8⁺ T cells were elicited with R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) and CFA (FIG. 1B). In contrast to the antibody results where an increase in the amount of R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) used was associated with a higher antibody response, the opposite appears to be the case for cell-mediated responses; higher cytokine-secreting T cells were detected when an equimolar amount of R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) was used in comparison to when 5-fold excess was used. This observation suggests that by altering the ratio of R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) to protein antigen, it may be possible to select the appropriate (cellular vs humoral) type of immune response required for the clearance of a particular pathogen.

In order to determine if the electrostatic interaction between a negatively charged lipopeptide and a positively charged antigen can also provide the same immunogenic enhancement, the lipopeptide E₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) (which has an overall charge of +4 due to the presence of four N-terminal glutamic acid residues) was incubated with hen egg lysozyme (HEL) which has an overall charge of +8. Inoculation of mice with these complexes resulted in higher antibody titres than those that were achieved with HEL alone indicating that the strategy of using Pam2Cys imbued with an electric charge opposite to the antigen with which it is administered can also be applied to accommodate protein antigens of the opposite charge (FIG. 2A).

It was also found that inoculation of mice with R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) and HEL, both of which have positive charges, did not result in the production of antibody indicating that the enhancement is charge specific. It remains to be seen however, whether the unexpected antibody results seen with E4(S₂Pam₂Cys) and the negatively charged OVA are due to the E₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) binding to positively charged patches present on OVA.

Discussion

The findings indicate that branched positively or negatively charged lipopeptides can be used to enhance the immunogenicity of oppositely charged proteins. This is especially highlighted through the use of R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys), which although capable of inducing OVA-specific responses, is unable to augment HEL-specific responses. Considering the positive charge of this lipopeptide and those of the proteins examined, the effects observed are possibly due to electrostatic interactions, or lack of therein, between the Pam2Cys moiety and the antigen. Further investigations to confirm this hypothesis can be achieved through chromatographic methods of analysis and additional in vivo studies using similarly or oppositely charged protein antigens as well as the inclusion of a branched lipopeptide that has a neutral charge.

The results of these experiments also suggest that the type of immune response that can be induced i.e. humoral or cellular may depend on the ratio of charged lipopeptide and protein used. This could be a particularly significant finding because the successful clearance of particular pathogens can depend on the type of immune response that is elicited The lipopeptides that we describe here may therefore provide a means to tailor the desired immune response against the particular antigen according to the disease.

Example 2

In order to measure the ability of the branched R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) and the linear Pam₂Cys-SK₄ lipopeptide to form a complex with the model antigen ovalbumin (OVA), the light absorbances of solutions containing increasing amounts of each lipopeptide and OVA were determined by measuring the optical density at 450 nm (FIG. 3). The ability of each lipopeptide to allow complex formation with OVA would therefore indicate an association between the two compounds.

It was found that the addition of 5 nmoles of branched R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) to a solution containing 1 nmole of OVA resulted in the formation of complexes which appeared as a turbid or opalescent solution. Increasing the amount of branched lipopeptide resulted in an increase in optical density readings with the highest achieved when 20 to 40 nmoles of lipopeptide was used. In contrast, very little increase in optical density was observed when the linear Pam2Cys-SK4 lipopeptide was added at all concentrations investigated indicating that branched R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) is superior to the linear lipopeptide at binding to the antigen.

To confirm the binding of R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) to OVA, solutions containing either of these compounds individually or a mixture of both were centrifuged to sediment any complex. HPLC analysis was then performed on the supernatant and on the sedimented material.

In the supernatant of solutions containing either OVA or R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) (FIG. 4A), the resulting chromatograms revealed major peaks corresponding to each individual compound in solution. After mixing both compounds, a dramatic decrease in the size of the peak corresponding to OVA in solution was obvious suggesting that the protein had been sedimented out of solution as a result of association with the R₄(S₂Pam₂Cys) lipopeptide. This was confirmed in the HPLC analysis of the reconstituted material (FIG. 4B) which revealed the presence of two major peaks corresponding to both OVA and lipopeptide confirming the sedimented material is a complex of lipopeptide and protein.

It should be understood that the examples and embodiments described herein are for illustrative purposes only and that various modifications or changes in light thereof will be suggested to persons skilled in the art and are to be included within the spirit and purview of this application and the scope of the appended claims. In addition, any elements or limitations of any invention or embodiment thereof disclosed herein can be combined with any and/or all other elements or limitations (individually or in any combination) or any other invention or embodiment thereof disclosed herein, and all such combinations are contemplated with the scope of the invention without limitation thereto.

REFERENCES

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We claim:
 1. An immunogenic composition comprising an antigen and a dendritic cell targeting component, wherein the antigen comprises a negatively charged region and wherein the dendritic cell targeting component comprises a positively charged group covalently attached to a dendritic cell ligand and wherein the negatively charged region of antigen is electrostatically associated with the dendritic cell targeting component.
 2. The immunogenic composition according to claim 1, wherein the antigen has an overall negative charge.
 3. The immunogenic composition according to claim 1, wherein the positively charged group comprises at least one positively charged amino acid.
 4. The immunogenic composition according to claim 1, wherein the positively charged group is a branched or linear peptide.
 5. The immunogenic composition according to claim 4, wherein the peptide comprises at least one arginine or lysine residue.
 6. The immunogenic composition according to claim 4, wherein the peptide comprises at least four arginine residues and/or at least four lysine residues.
 7. An immunogenic composition comprising an antigen and a dendritic cell targeting component, wherein the antigen comprises a positively charged region and wherein the dendritic cell targeting component comprises a negatively charged group covalently attached to a dendritic cell ligand and wherein the positively charged region of antigen is electrostatically associated with the dendritic cell targeting component.
 8. The immunogenic composition according to claim 7, wherein the antigen has an overall positive charge.
 9. The immunogenic composition according to claim 7, wherein the negatively charged group comprises at least one negatively charged amino acid.
 10. The immunogenic composition according to claim 7, wherein the negatively charged group is a branched or linear peptide.
 11. The immunogenic composition according to claim 10, wherein the peptide comprises at least one aspartic acid or glutamic acid residue.
 12. The immunogenic composition according to claim 10, wherein the peptide comprises at least four aspartic acid residues and/or at least four glutamic acid residues.
 13. The immunogenic composition according to claim 1, wherein the antigen is not a nucleic acid.
 14. The immunogenic composition according to claim 1, wherein the antigen is associated with the dendritic cell targeting component by electrostatic interaction only.
 15. The immunogenic composition according to claim 1, wherein the dendritic cell ligand is a TLR ligand.
 16. The immunogenic composition according claim 15, wherein the TLR ligand comprises a lipid or a peptidoglycan or a lipoprotein or a lipopolysaccharide.
 17. The immunogenic composition according to claim 15, wherein the TLR ligand comprises palmitoyl, myristoyl, stearoyl, lauroyl, octanoyl, or decanoyl.
 18. The immunogenic composition according to claim 15, wherein the TLR ligand is selected from the group consisting of: Pam₂Cys, Pam₃Cys, Ste₂Cys, Lau₂Cys, and Oct₂Cys.
 19. The immunogenic composition according to claim 15, wherein the TLR ligand binds either TLR-1, TLR-2 or TLR-6.
 20. The immunogenic composition according to claim 15, wherein the TLR ligand binds to TLR-2.
 21. A method of raising an immune response in a subject, the method comprising administering to a subject an immunogenic composition according to claim
 1. 